Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to orthopedic medical devices and methods, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for bone transplantation, and more particularly still to a device and technique for preparing and transplanting osteochondral segments in bone using an angular cutting device attached to the surface of the articular cartilage and thus referencing this surface on both the donor and recipient sites.
Background Discussion
Current osteochondral allograft technology provides an unsatisfactory solution to the problem of preparing large osteochondral allografts. The state of the art is limited to the use either of hand instruments, such as saws and burrs or, alternatively, large coring devices. When faced with a large bone defect, for instance one involving the entire condyle, the orthopedic surgeon must use multiple interlocking cylindrical cores to resurface the large surface area. This can be problematic because of the increased graft tissue necessary for an interlocking technique. For example, in order to resurface one femoral condyle, a surgeon might require the donor allograft to include an entire distal femur with both condyles. The cost of such a large graft can be prohibitive to the performance of this type of surgery.